With the Lakers off to a 1-4 start, there's been plenty of speculation suggesting that head coach Mike Brown could be on the hot seat in Los Angeles. However, as Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, the front office intends to exercise some patience, letting Brown and the Lakers work through the early-season struggles.
"I have no problems with Mike Brown at all," Buss said. "He just works too hard and he's too knowledgeable for this to be happening. So either the system is flawed or something's going on. Or, like the Triangle, it's very hard to pick up and understand. I'm not a basketball mind like he is or the players are, and the players are fine with it, so I just have to be patient."
Buss acknowledged that no one was happy about the team's early results and that he and the front office would stay on top of the situation, but said that doesn't mean a change is coming. According to Buss, he's been gauging the reactions of Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers, reading their public comments and talking to them directly, and has gotten the sense that "everything's cool."
While the Lakers only have five games under their belts and are expected to turn things around in the near future, Buss admitted that the team was built to win now and continued struggles would be a concern. However, he wouldn't commit to a specific timeline for evaluating the club's (and Brown's) performance.
"You have to give it time to understand [what's going on]," Buss said. "I don't know if there's an actual game total that would make me impatient. I know if we're 1-15, I don't think that would be very good. I'm sure that would be a panic button. But at this time, I'm fine with what's going on. It's a learning process for the players. As long as everybody is on the same page, I think we're fine."